Apr 29, 2008 5:06 pm US/Pacific
Reiser Smiles As Sentencing Date Set; Appeal Vowed
OAKLAND (CBS 5 / KCBS / AP / BCN) ―
Convicted murderer Hans Reiser received a July 9 sentencing date Tuesday, as attorneys for the Oakland computer engineer convicted of murdering his missing wife vowed their client would appeal the guilty verdict.
Reiser, 44, smiled and laughed in court at the brief hearing in which the sentencing date was set for his first-degree murder conviction for the death of his estranged wife Nina, who disappeared on Sept. 3, 2006 at the age of 31.
Reiser was convicted in a jury verdict handed down on Monday after nearly three days of deliberations in which jurors weighed six months of testimony, including sometimes rambling answers given by Reiser himself. Both the prosecution and defense acknowledged that Reiser's actions and attitude while on the witness stand may have had an impact on the jury's decision.
In his return to the courtroom of Alameda County Superior Court Judge Larry Goodman, a day after the seven-man, five-woman jury delivered its verdict against him, Reiser was dressed in red jail clothes instead of the gray pants, white shirt, red tie and blue blazer he wore throughout his lengthy trial.
Reiser, who faces a state prison term of 25 years to life, agreed to waive his right to be sentenced within three weeks - which put off his sentencing until July.
After the sentencing date was set, Reiser whispered into the ear of his attorney, William DuBois, for several minutes and smiled and laughed at times.
Outside court, DuBois said Reiser "was not laughing about the merits of this case or his circumstances" and insisted that Reiser takes his conviction seriously.
A different legal team will handle Reiser's appeal, the basis of which DuBois said would not be disclosed until after his client was sentenced.
DuBois also hinted for the second consecutive day that there could also be some type of post-verdict deal with prosecutors, such as possibly having Reiser's first-degree murder conviction reduced to a lesser charge like second-degree murder or manslaughter, if Reiser agreed to reveal where Nina's body is.
While her body was never found, police arrested Hans Reiser after discovering small amounts of his wife's blood in the couple's home and on a sleeping bag sack in his car. They also noted that after she disappeared, Hans Reiser's car went missing only to be found later with the passenger seat gone and the floorboards soaked with water.
Asked if he and Reiser would continue to maintain that Reiser is innocent and didn't kill Nina, DuBois said Tuesday, "We'll see."
"I feel that the evidence, excluding his (Reiser's) testimony, was insufficient to establish the charges, but I recognize the reality (of the first-degree murder conviction) and we must conduct ourselves accordingly and take a productive posture." the defense lawyer said.
DuBois told a large group of reporters, "There's still a lot of work to do in the case and there might be some significant developments. Stick around." He added that "there's a real possibility" he would engage in talks with prosecutor Paul Hora.
However, Hora threw cold water on that possibility, saying he didn't expect at this point to engage in any talks with DuBois and he's planning for the case to end with Reiser's sentencing.
When Nina Reiser vanished during the Labor Day weekend in 2006, she left behind her passport, a minivan with a purse and sacks of groceries inside, and thousands of dollars. She also left behind her children, a 6-year-old boy and 5-year-old girl, something friends and relatives testified she never would do.
Nina's mother in Russia, Irina Sharanova, was awarded custody of Rory and Nio in December of 2006, three months after Nina disappeared.
Hora said Tuesday that Sharanova had been told about Hans Reiser's conviction but he hadn't talked to her directly.
Ellen Doren, a native of Russia who has lived in Oakland for many years and was Nina Reiser's best friend before she disappeared, said in an e-mail message, "We thank the jury for the hard work they have done and we would like to thank the Oakland police and the District Attorney's office for taking an interest in this case."
She said, "Paul Hora has worked very hard to bring this case to the end. We are very thankful."
However, Doren added, "The trial is over but it will never be over for us, Nina's friends and family and most importantly her children."
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
